Anyone planning to attend Northwest Folklife this month? It's the ginormous (crossthreading) music festival in Seattle.

No--I'll be in the opposite corner of the country then. Looks cool, though, and I know of seven people who might well be there:
http://www.nwfolklife.org/

I do have a question: how and when did Cajun music become a tradition in the Pacific Northwest?

Dear Zed ~

Used to go every year. Used to be a pretty cool affair until rampant commercialism took over and drove the local artisans, craftsmen and vendors out ... until name acts replaced local acts ... until the money came to drive the program. I look back fondly on taking my kids to FolkLife when they were growing up, exposing them to the populist musicians and artists who gathered there. Even they have abandoned the festival as being too commercial ... which shows that their papa taught them more than just about music.

Shallow or not I still like it. Besides, where else could I dance tango, contra, swing and latin until my feet fall off and all in the same weekend. Plus go to the liars contest.

Then for you, I pray that it does not rain ... as it so often does in Seattle this time of year ... as it is at this very moment.

Last night was one of our rare thunderstorms. My apt. faces south so I got to watch it sweep in, over and off. One strike must have been directly overhead and set off all the local car alarms.

Today, between moments of bright, warm sunshine, rain cells dropped 0.17 inches of rain in a six-hour period. Maritime climates are fun!

Well, I had a fantastic time in Florida: got to see a beloved friend after a long dry spell, and found that Daytona Beach's white sand is still as beautiful as I remember it from my childhood visits. I also went to the famous or infamous biker bar, the Boot Hill Saloon. I would not describe it as beautiful--though it is across from a cemetery.

Did you go to your folklife fest., Zed? Anyone else?

Picture our Jackie here:

http://www.boothillstore.com/

Oh, it's my kind of place, all right [rolling eyes e]: besides various questionable photos on the wall, one of which I shall try very hard to forget, there are womens' undergarments hung from almost every available high spot. We found out that Daytona is a biker heaven; numerous dealerships and shops of all kinds. Hubby was thrilled to death to see an Arlen Ness place. I'd never heard of him; not enough to remember, anyway.

One of the goals of this year's FolkLife Festival was to break the world's record (currently held by a group in Poland) for the largest harmonica band. The plan was to assemble more than 852 harmonica-ists and play "When the Saints Go Marchin' In." Haven't yet heard if they were successful. Perhaps Zed will know and tell us.

assemble more than 852 harmonica-ists

That's ... that's WMD. Call Homeland Security!

I don't know if they broke the record but the crowd looked pretty big. We had to leave so couldn't join in. I got to dance the tango (badly,) swing (not at all badly if I do say so myself) and contra (oooh, my inner ear is out of shape, must practice spinning). We watched flamenco and kids blowing bubbles and digereedo and marimba players while eating African food and huge strawberry shortcakes. Went to workshops on old time fiddling and Swedish accordian playing and taught some friends to do a Cajun twostep. Not bad for $5 per day.
See you next year??